to end our morning with "enpoint." >> i was saying my new book "the secret to happy families." one of the things i learned is what's the key? to try. to take small steps and accumulate small wins. and i was thinking about the diet. when i first learned i had to go on this diet, i was shocked and

horrified. i didn't think it was possible, but once i started, my body kicked in, it became self-reinforcing. >> thank you for being here. stay tuned for special coverage of the papal vote. two votes remain. anderson cooper and chris cuomo begin special coverage at 11:00 a.m. eastern. cnn newsroom with carol costello begins right now. happening now, cardinals vote and the world watches this chimney on the sistine chapel. so far, black smoke revealing all three votes have failed to elect a new pope. as mary richards best friend, rhoda kept america laughing. >> i'm going crazy with hunger. >> eat something. >> i can't i have to lose ten pounds by 8:30. >> loved her. actress valerie harper opens up to piers morgan about her terminal cancer diagnosis, and what life is like now with weeks to live.

this sinkhole swallowed a man in the middle of his golf game. trapped in a pile of mud 18 feet below ground. and a tax season snafu causes refund delays of more than a month. find out if your refund is one of them. live in the cnn newsroom. good morning. thank you for being with us. i'm carol costello. we begin this morning at the vatican, where billowing black smoke reveals the catholic church is in search of a leader. cardinals have voted three times now and have not selected a new pope. things get even more interesting. the cardinals enter the conclave with no clear front-runner and we are wondering, if the election is deadlocked or if they are ziering in on a

successor to pope benedict. chris cuomo, let's start with you. the cardinals breaking for a long lunch. how much has this process been pushed along? >> well this is the most important part of the day you could argue, carol. they are not allowed to politic in the conclave. more of a religious ceremony than a convention this is their chance. they eat, rest, move around, go in different rooms. we are told, of course, they take time to pray. can't underestimate this in the process. this is not a political process as we understand it in american presidential politics. they are prayerful men. taking inspiration from the frescos, looking to their god for help in doing this, and that takes place during this period as well. this is go time. they have to make decisions. we don't know if there is a front-runner. we know in sessions like the one going on right now. we know it's timely.

now, let be bring in john allen. senior vatican analyst. this part of the day, three votes, no pope, no concern to you, because historically we shouldn't have one by right now. >> that's right. we only got a pope on three ballots once, 1939. last time, of course, 2005, four ballots. we don't know, thatted radically outweighs what we do know. one scenario, there is a single candidate just a few votes short of the magical 2/3 threshold of 77 votes. they will go back in this afternoon and that candidate will be pushed over the top and we'll have a pope. the other scenario, there are two, three, four, five, candidates that got a smattering of the votes and no idea which candidate may be able to get to the 2/3 threshold, which means this break for lunch is

incredibly important. they have to do heavy lifting to figure out which one of the candidates might be plausible in terms of becoming pope. >> this is still ongoing, taking questions right now. constitutionality feeds on vatican tv. someone asked, we heard there are reports, and there were reports of smoke in the sistine chapel, and the official response was cardinals are fine, the frescos are fine. but they didn't say there was no smoke. now, i'm not being typical reporter, advancing something on the unknown. true or false, john allen, they have had problems with this in the past. >> absolutely. conclaves in the past, it was confirmed, so much smoke bech g i belching out of the stove, it could damage the sistine chapel. >> again, it is part of the

pageantry. to see pictures of the stove, it really is a big pot-bellied stowe that they just really jury-rig into the ceiling. >> to be honest, the truth is one of the reasons we saw two different cycle of smoke this morning, they have two different sets of 115 ballots and notes they have to burn. when i interviewed after the conclave of 2005, why sometimes were there two different issuances of smoke. quite frankly, the stove isn't big enough and they had to do two different cycles. of course, symbolism here is thee logically, the catholic church, ancient and new at the same time. that is, there is a kind of timeless deposit of doctrine and practice, but also being updated to meet the area in which it lives. it's engaged in 21st century culture and tweets, and yet at the same time, they are using

this sort of old school stove and chimney to let the world know what has happened. it's ripe with symbolism. >> one of the things that makes such great theater, carol. >> what confused us, when the smoke started coming out of the chimney, we're thinking what color is it. it looks graeish, and it grgrew -- darker. we were confused. >> look, it's part of the -- again, we use theater, the great sense of drama pointiancy. that's what it's all about. that's what ritual is about. and last night they overwhelmed us, the boom of smoke. no question about it. we were trying to figure out how they created so much smoke. this morning, a tough read. a little reticent. had to step in the fray there. >> declare it black. >> had to go forward. >> eight years ago, when we finally got the white smoke, we

didn't know right away it was white smoke. the five most anguished minutes of my life, sitting on the cnn platform, trying to decide is that white, black? do we have a pope or don't we? it took a while. and they told us bells were going to ring. top of the hour, the bells of st. peter's were going off anyway. it was no help. we may be down the path again. >> two things we know, one is, if those are the worst moments of your life, have you had a good life. part of the antiquity of the process. great book, not as great as yours, but reading a passage of how this was done in the past, you think we have a pope, everybody knows this, simultaneous communication, but they are even old school in that regard. the guy who is supposed to ring the bells, doesn't necessarily get the phone call in the right time. >> what happened last time, the papal master of ceremonies was in the sistine chapel, trying to use his cell phone, but the jamming equipment still on, so he asked one of the swiss guards to go tell him, he did.

this guy said to the swiss guard, are you not my chain of command. i need to hear from the master of ceremonies. the vatican is thinking in centuries, not a big deal. for us, it was heart attack city. >> we want to know, but especially this time, such an important decision for the church, whether are you catholic or not. the world's eyes are on this process, it's supposed to be a time for change. the vision of the new pope will say loud and clear what the catholic church's intentions are moving forward. >> shawn allen, chris cuomo, thank you so much. other top stories this morning, a scare in montana is okay after being caught in the middle an avalanche. view from his helmet cam. jeremy irons was buried in the snow. friends were able to dig him out in three minutes. they credit the helmet for saving his life.

an afternoon in the golf course ends with the golfer deep underground. mark mihal on the 14th fairway on a golf course near st. louis when an 18-foot sinkhole opened up and swallowed him. >> i noticed an anomaly. a bathtub shape d hole, and i went to look at it, took one step, and i was gone. >> unbelievable. mark dislocated his shoulder in the fall. it took 20 minutes to pull him out. a louisiana coast tugboat will bull itself out. it hit a submerged gas pipeline, which also caught fire. the captain suffered severe burns. at one point, flames reached 3,000 feet into the air. fda is warning users of the antibiotic it could lead to

heart problems, z-pack can change electrical activity in the heart and could potentially lead to fatal irregular heartbeat. the medicine will carry new warning labels. the president's new charm offensive could face its toughest test yet today. going to meet with house republicans on capitol hill and it appears the president has lost some of his political capitol. a new washington post/abc news poll says 50% approve of the president's job. down over the past seven weeks. 46 disapprove. numbers worse when it comes to the handling of the economy. 44% back the president. 52% do not. dan lothian joins us from the white house. so the polls certainly can't help the president's cause, especially without republicans. >> it certainly shows there is a lot of frustration out there, a lot of concern for americans when it comes to the president dealing with debt and deficit. we expect republica will shine

a big spotlight on that raising some of the same concerns and criticisms and you you heard some of that yesterday from representative paul ryan, the chairman of the house budget committee as he was rolling out his own budget that seeks to balance the budget over the next decade by doing away with a locality of health care reform, by streamlining the federal tax code. but president obama in an interview with abc news, says when it comes to the timeline, it's not what he has in mind. >> my goal is not to chase a balanced budget just for the sake of balance. my goal is how do we grow the economy, put people back to work, and if we do that, we're going to be bringing in more revenue. if we've controlled spending and we've got a smart entitlement package, potentially what have you is balanced, but not balanced on the backs of, you know, the poor, the elderly, students who need student loans, family who's have disabled kids. that's not the right way to

balance a budget. >> so the president is sitting down meeting with republicans, hoping he can work through some of these thorny fiscal issues, hoping there can be compromise, but there is the big sticking point, how do you raise revenue, republicans smarting over the fact that the taxes went up on the wealthy at the end of last year. a lot of big differences between republicans and democrats. >> that's an understatement. dan lothian live from the white house. just ahead in the newsroom, actress valerie harper speaking out about the devastating news she has just weeks to live. >> i just want folks to see me, that i'm okay, that i'm not suffering. >> the star opens up about her life now and how she wants to be remembered. back in a minute.

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>> i'm going crazy with hunger. >> eat something. >> ican't. i have to lose ten pounds by 8:30. i can't have it. why look? if i felt that way, i would never go to a paul newman movie. you can really get close to someone fast when you hit them with a car. >> now harper is speaking out, sitting down with piers morgan, discussing her incurable brain cancer diagnosis and why she's not going to give up. >> from what i understand, when he realized it was a terminal condition that you had, he told your husband, of 34 years, toney. and toney decided for a while not to tell you. how long before he told you? >> i think it was a week or two. as i remember. because i could feel something going on with my friends and with, you know -- there was like an elephant in the room slightly. a small one, but tony was told

at the hospital in new york, there is nothing we can do for her. and, in fact, there hasn't been. it is incurable so far, and then we -- you know, he told me, and i felt better actually, piers, to really know what i was dealing with, and why was i feeling so good? the medicine that they had me on, two a day, two times of the day, not like a huge cocktail -- i mean, it's not -- it seems so simple and my life is the same. i'm exercising, walking, doing book tours. i'm just living my life with the help of dr. nikali and their team and dr. rudnick and doing one foot in front of the other and feel much better knowing and i decided, gee if this news comes out it's going to be

horrifying, and by the way, my neighbors immediately called the house, sent notes and bring casseroles. can i cook for you? yes and oh, think think i'm in a wheelchair or laying with tubes, maybe now while i can still talk and communicate and express, we're all terminal. every single one of us. never us are getting out of this alive, and we don't like the look of death and i don't ask people to do that, but i ask them to expect that death is inevitable and then leave it alone. live the moment. but don't be thinking about your death way before the time of your death. that's what i'm really trying to share. >> valerie, how would you like to be remembered? >> oh, that's great. she was up and off the couch. she was -- you know, or off her

you know what? and i think i have been all my life. i had a canadian mom who was a nurse, and my beautiful dad, exhockey player who met her in canada, it's all in my little book, but he was so positive, he was a salesman, so i guess i got some of that energy from him. and my brother don and my sister leah, what a great family. not perfect. in fact, the marriage fell apart. but it was such a nice, grounding thing to be the family where there was love and space forfeits a fights and everythin. and forgiveness. people need to do that, give themselves and oprah said so brilliantly. forgiveness is the -- is giving up the wish that the past could have been different. and when you give that up, if you are released.

you don't forget. the person is not exonerated. wasn't good what they did to you or feel that they did to you, you release it, and you don't have to hold it and you don't have to do it to yourself. your mind, ego, will beat you up all the time. we are bigger, we are spirit, whatever you want to call it. something larger than our mind. the mind is a great tool. we need it to stay out of traffic and move around and do great things and write stuff, but it isn't the whole of us. that other place, that experienced place, where you can look at your mind, make enough stories about yourself or other people or be mean, instead of saying, that was mean of you, just look at it, like the zen philosophy. you just observe it. you become the observer and then you say to yourself, well, if my mind is saying this, who is observing? who is observing without judgment? and that is part of who we are. that is that being place where

we're connected to everybody. people can give themselves a chance. >> wow. despite her diagnosis, valerie has an extraordinarily positive attitude. you saw that. in the next hour, more from valerie and how she is able to maintain that strength coming your way at 10:00 a.m. eastern. 35, single, sandy hair. >> rhoda, it's 1:00, isn't your lunch hour over? >> my boss doesn't care if i'm a little late. >> i care. >> mary, i have to get going. there is this boss who hates it when i'm late. yours. [ male announce] it's red lobster's lobsterfest our largest selection of lobster entrees, like lobster lover's dream or new grilled lobster and lobster tacos. come in now and sea food differently. visit redlobster.com now

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is mississippi's anti bloomberg bill a good idea? lawmakers in mississippi are saying nanny bloomberg, don't mess with us and passed the anti bloomberg bill, prevents mississippi from banning food based on nutritional information, after a judge shut down the ballyhooed soda ban. mayor bloomberg says bring it

on. >> if we're serious about fighting obesity, we have to be honest about what causes it and the courage to tacktel hele it on. >> according to the trust for america's health and the robert wood johnson foundation, mississippi had the highest rate of obesity in the nation, 35% of adults are obese in mississippi. still, ought authorize of the anti bloomberg bill, a restaurant owner, says consumers, not the government should decide what they can buy. and apparently, most americans earn for high calorie fast food. case in point. the cool ranch doritos loco taco. customers went loco because they couldn't find their new taco at their local store. they vented, you lied to me. i thought we had a better relationship than this. why, taco bell, why? hate to say it, but taco bell fail. seriously, though, d everybody

oritos loco taco is no joke. it sold 1 million taco cheese tacos per day. clearly we want to eat what we want when we want it and we have an obesity problem in the country. the talkback question. is mississippi's anti bloomberg bill a good idea? facebook.com/carolcnn. or tweet me @carolcnn. [ male announcer ] this is joe woods' first day of work.

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good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you for joining us. stories we're watching in the newsroom. opening bell just rang on wall street. the dow poised to extend its winning streak. alison kosik at the new york stock exchange. give us the scoop. >> the winning streak, eight days in the making. dow eeked out another record setting day, carol. two points higher, all it took. but the dow barely ended in positive territory, it looks like investors may be ready to take a bit of a breather. starting mixed, slightly lower and what the winning streak is saying, longest winning streak since 2011. new retail sales numbers out. jumped more than 1% in february. consumers pent mo er rs spent m bought cars, but less at the mall. we'll see if that good news

maybe gives stocks more of a boost. >> we'll get back to you. alison kosik live at the stock exchange. political buzz, rapid fire look at the best topics of the day. three topics, 30 seconds on the clock. playing with us today, editorial director of the national journal ron brown screen and democratic strategist maria cardona. >> good morning, carol. >> good morning. first topic. most americans say a balanced budget is a good thick. previous presidents have made it central to ajen endas, among them, ron al reagan. >> i think what we are going to have to have and what i have to strive for is an amendment to the constitution that requires the government every year to balance the budget. >> then in 1997, bill clinton signed a balanced budget

amendment, saying it represented an historic compromise. but today, democrats are blasting a republican plan to balance the budget in ten years. president obama says it's not just about dollars and cents. >> my goal is not to chase a balanced budget just for the sake of balance. by goal is how do we grow the economy, put people back to work, and if we do that, we're going to be bringing in more revenue, if we controlled spending and we've got a smart xwettlement package. potentially what you have is balance, but not balance on the backs of, you know, the poor, the elderly, students who need student loans, family who's have disabled kids, not the right way to balance the budgets. >> democrats set to unveil proposals today, one likely dead on arrival with colleagues across the aisle. is the balanced budget important or not? ron. >> look, it's an aspiration we

honored in the ron ahead reagan age. it's only been balanced three or four years since 1969. and we blew that up with the medicare prescription drug benefit. from an economic point of view, economists focus on stabilize the debt as a share of the overall economy, so the debt is not growing faster than the economy. the realistic goal that both sides are pointing at now. >> maria. >> i sleetly agree with ron. it is an i hadisticly a good idea. i completely agree with the president, but instead of doing it just for the sake of doing it. you look at a family and things that families need to get done, and a family in debt, they could balance their budget in a minute if they decide not to send their kids to college or not to give their grandparents the health care they need. is that smart? absolutely not. we need to do it with the focus on the future. making sure the middle class is

educated, healthy and robust. ending gun violence in america through higher taxes? the idea behind a house democratic bill led by linda sanchez. it calls for an additional 10% tax on sales of concealable firearms with the extra money going to fund gun buybacks and safety programs. supporters say it would get unwanted guns off the streets. critics say it's punishes law abiding gun owners. our question, will raising taxes on gun sales target the wrong people? maria? >> i don't know if this particular legislation will work, carol, but what i like, they are putting everything on the table in terms of trying to solve the issue of gun violence in this country, which is critical. should we focus on this? i don't think raising taxes will keep anybody that wants a gun from buying a gun. we should focus on other things

also that have more bipartisan support, like the background checks and focusing on real solutions. i like this continues to be part of the debate. we need to continue to put everything on the table. >> ron. >> the real point of this, we have over a decade of silence about gun issues after al gore was defeated this is a very polarizing idea. i can see some blue states advancing it. very difficult beyond that. >> buzzer beater, 20 seconds on the clock. outrage, indignation, unrest, all because of this. the cool ranch doritos tacos locos, a much anticipated sequel to a menu favorite. customers unable to find it at their local taco bell restaurants. last year, taco bell so overwhelmed by the original nacchio cheese dorito taco, it

reportedly hired 15,000 additional workers. who needs washington when you can have a job creating taco. as the people at the daily beast asks, can this taco save america, ron? >> go back to question one, the concern about the deficit. largely driven about health care costs. why are health care costs rising? the way we live and the life-style choices we make. a difficult issue. people reluctant to be pushed on what they eat, consume, or exercise, ultimately, that's part of the solution on the health care issues and long-term federal budget as well. hate to say it. >> maria. >> creating jobs. taco bell is looking to open 2,000 additional stores this year because of the doritos locos taco. i had say this. this is for the gop advice, this is not the way to reach out to the latino community. don't start serving doritos locos tacos at your events. underline that.

>> i think that president obama, when he needs to talk to republicans today, should bring some of those tacos, it might work. >> there you go. everybody loves them, carol. >> exactly. they are good. ron brown screen, maria cardona, thank you for playing today. we appreciate it. parents, do you want your sons sleeping in a tent with a gay 15-year-old? that's what the boy scouts of america wants to know. and wait until you hear what else is on the new survey.

a question. should a gay boy scout be able to share a tent with a straight boy scout? one question on a survey extended to scout leaders and their parents. the scouts are deciding whether to lift a ban on gay members. in a listening phase of the process, and will vote on the matter in may. john lang bird is an openly gay father in texas. he was fund-raising with his son's scout troop. but he left the troop when he was told he couldn't wear a uniform or hand out awards to other scouts. >> good morning. >> first off, how do you feel about the boy scouts passing out a questionnaire like this? >> i think it's a great idea to get feedback from the troops and

parents. nothing wrong with that. it asks a couple of different fipz of questions, one about acceptance and that's fine, although i think they really need to get on with it, and it's about implementation, and that's fine too. >> i want to take a look at some of the questions. part of one question. from the questionnaire. is it acceptable or unacceptable for a gay adult leader to take ahedolescent boys on an overnig camping trip? how do people respond to that question? >> i am going to say -- the scouts have policies in place where you have to have two adults around where there are kids. whether adults are gay or straight, shouldn't enter into the decision making process. when i was a scout leader, i there was to do scouting. this issue really should be set

aside. >> the question is asked in that particular way, how do you feel about that? that particular question? >> well, i don't really have an answer for that, because i understand the scouts, just like the catholic church right now, they are grappling with change in the world. and trying to get feedback, i understand that. but, really, it's -- i think you are implying or they are implying there is something wrong with gay leaders when they ask questions like that, and i personally wouldn't be asking those questions. >> this is another question and a scenario, and this is what it says on the questionnaire put out by boy scouts. johnny's friends and their parents unanimously nominate johnny's mom who is known by them to be a lesbian to be a den leader. is it acceptable or unacceptable for his mother to serve as den leader for his cub scout den?

how will people replace this with lesbian with black or hispanic? >> that's excellent point. if you look at the u.s. military, they took this, and they got their marching orders, we'll implement equality. a bunch of doomsayers any time there is a change like this. oh, people will leave the military, hallow out our force and it never came to fruition. same thing here. if the scouts would just show leadership and say we're going to be an inclusive organization, we recognize we already have gay scouts and gay leaders, we allow them to be out about it, and move past this topic, all of this would be unnecessary. >> i want to read you what the boy scouts say about this survey. we did contact them. the boy scouts told cnn, we're currently in the listening phase. where the boy scout of america's committees engage key

stakeholders for input and we review a number of issues and how they will impact the boy scouts, including youth chartered organizations, parents, and financial fund-raising and legal concerns. the survey lults are help inform the officers' work on a resolution regarding membership standa standards. i guess i'm wondering, shouldn't the boy scouts of america make a decision and not base it on a number of opinions out there across the country which all may be different? >> you are absolutely correct. you can't satisfy all of the people all of the time. and this is one where an organization that purports to develop future leaders needs to show some leadership of its own. >> john, thank you for joining thus morning. we appreciate it. >> thank you. still ahead in the newsroom, talkback. is mississippi's anti bloomberg bill a good idea? your response is next. [ woman ] we had two tiny reasons to get our adt security system. and one really big reason --

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zane verge has more. >> carol, it may sound totally crazy, crazy but venezuela is going to look into claims that hugo chavez's cancer happened because he was poisoned. by who? officials are saying his enemies. reacting president nick cos has mow deer ro said he is formally opening an investigation adding this, quote, we have an intuition that our commander chavez was poisoned by dark forces who wanted to be rid of him. scientists are going to be asked to join the probe. he said the u.s. had labs creating cancer in the '40s and '60s so while the state department spokesman says that it's totally absurd to think that the u.s. caused chavez's cancer. now some analysts are saying all of this sound s crazy but it's n internal political ploy to keep the attention on chavez still and to get some benefit from the emotional outpouring from his

supporters. carol? >> zain verjee. to the web where federal rules now require short form ads like the ones on twitter and facebook to include traditional product disclosures. "the wall street journal" reports that even the tiniest on-line ads must include details like whether a celebrity was paid for an endorsement. dwight howard's homecoming was something he'll probably remember for a long time. coming up, you'll hear how orlando magic fans welcomed him back. i'm a conservative investor. but that doesn't mean i don't want to make money. nts. i also try to keep my costs down. what's your plan? ishares. low cost and tax efficient. find out why nine out of ten large professional investors choose ishares for their etfs. ishares by blackrock. call 1-800-ishares for a prospectus which includes investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses.

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talk back question today, is mississippi's anti-bloomberg bill a good idea? this from molly, way to go, mississippi, government has no right to dictate what citizens are allowed to eat and drink. from lanny f you don't have the self-control to live a healthy life you're inviting government interference. it's your choice. this from kj, a temper tantrum knee-jerk reaction only hurts mississippi residents. if he gets people to rethink their habits, why not. >> keep the conversation going, facebook.com/carolcnn or tweet me @carolcnn. this engine's got some juice. how far do you want to take it? up to you. chevy cruze's six-speed transmission allows for lower shift points,

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lakers played his old team the orlando magic. it was his first game back since leaving and let's just say magic fans were not exactly ecstatic to see him. joe carter is here with bleacher report. >> good morning, carol. they're not happy with him because when he left orlando for l.a. it really wasn't a clean break. he kept magic fans guessing if he would stay in town or go and, of course, as you'll hear there's still a lot of bitterness with the fans. >> there you have it. the magic fans tried to distract him all game booing him every time he touched the ball. that strategy didn't work. dwight howard played his best game of the season. the team orlando, their strategy, pack it every time he touched the ball. that didn't work, he scored 25 of 39 points from the free-throw line. the lakers win by nine. after the game, howard had a parting message for his old fans. >> i forgive, everything the whole process, whatever happens it's behind me now and i can't

let it affect who i am as a person. >> so the miami heat won again last night. make it 19 wins and counting. the heat crushed the atlanta hawks. lebron james made just three shots but he did help in other ways. dwyane wade picked up the slack with another strong game. miami goes for win number 20 tonight. our friends at bleacherreport.com breaks down how miami's win streak, how they're doing it through the eyes of their opponents. the next video is a celebration video gone wrong. north community college wins a big game. decide to celebrate with a shower, except coach goes down. watch the fans, comes down to help. also goes down. here's the deal. this gatorade shower celebration should be saved for outdoors, not indoors. it gets slippery there. both the coach and the fans are okay and both of these guys actually laughed it off when they walked away. question here, do you want to win free tickets to the final four? if you do just got to get a vass tech thome or come in for a consultation. a local medical office in

georgia is offering two free tickets if you come in to get snipped or even consider it. >> you still are -- have had a procedure and you're off your basketball.e weekend to watch i mean, it truly is a win/win situation. >> i can hear the executicuses g in now. i can't possibly get off this couch or my bath robe. doctor's orders. i have to watch basketball. >> so bizarre. i wonder how many takers he'll get though. we'll be following that story. thanks so much. the next hour of "cnn newsroom" starts now. let it burn, a -- actually we're going to take you to the vatican, you can see the black smoke rising. no new pope just yet. also coming up, let it burn. a tugboat leaking crude oil is on fire off the coast of louisiana right now. the coast guard says it has no choice but to watch and wait.

getting americans back to work, one taco at a time. . >> wow. >> you knew it was coming but it's still mind blowing. the new cool ranch dorito taco. >> how taco bell's special shell is creating thousands of jobs across the country. plus, the speed camera controversy. >> it's just a scam a money grab. >> it's an example of big brother gone wild in a budget crunch. >> an ohio judge makes a landmark ruling ta has one police department crying foul and state leaders proposing sweeping changes. you're live in the "cnn newsroom." and good morning. thank you so much for being with us. i'm carol costello. we start, of course, at the vatican where billowing black smoke revealed the catholic church is still in search of a

leader. cardinals have voted three times now and have not yet selected a new pope and this is where things get even more interesting. the cardinals entered conclave with no clear frontrunner and now we're left wondering, is the election deadlocked or is the process zeroing in on a successor to pope benedict. let's go to rome and cnn's chris cuomo. good morning, chris. >> good morning, carol. you know what i figured out, it's not worth worrying about it because the only people who can give us good information about what's going on in the room are sworn to see rasy under excommunication. we have no clue what is driving us to black smoke. we only know it's there. this is like the end of the most important part of their day right now. after lunch, after they're finishing caucuses and in about an hour they will start to vote again. as we keep telling you, the voting itself, a very unpublic thing. not just their secret but among themselves. they don't really give speechesp. it's more of a ceremony.

we got some more information today from a presser with vatican officials. what they had to say was the votes are going a little more quickly than expected. they're not sure why. taking about an hour a vote. that's why smoke came earlier this morning than we expected. also, we know that the pope emaritus, benedict, was watching on tv. we know that we cannot say that we know for sure that he was not watching cnn. but we were just told that he was watching. he watched the entrance of the conclave. and that is interesting because certainly he is a major influence on the minds of the 115 cardinals who are thinking what to do next. we also heard in the presser that vatican officials have received a lot of smoke about entering the sistine chapel. they would say only the cardinals' health is fine. they're all fine. the frescoes, the paintings are fine. they did not say that there was no smoke. now i'm not being clever. i think that this is the

vatican's way of suggesting what they want to suggest, and on the heels of that i will now bring us to some sound from the vatican presser that explained the situation. take a listen. . >> we received concerned callers after they saw the quantity of smoke, whether or not the frescoes were ruined in the sistine chapel or were there severe respiratory problems by the people in it. they left the sistine chapel in good health, the frescoes are in perfect condition and this morning the cardinals went back to the sistine chapel in very good shape. >> all right. very nice. obviously no word, though, bring in john allen, senior vatican allen, father edward, cnn contributor. he didn't say there was no smoke. he said everybody was okay, right? >> yeah. that's absolutely right. let me make one other point. you said we don't know for sure that benedict xvi wasn't tracking the conclave on cnn and that's true. what we do know if he was watching cnn he was probably taking it with a small grain of salt because he knows very well

in 1999 i wrote a biography of him, the last chapter of which contained four reasons why he would never be pope, a fact he's reminded me of more than once over the years. >> we believe your information is better this time around. >> yeah. i'm hopeful i'm a little more ahead of the curve this time arou around. >> now obviously the reasons for the speculation about smoke is because it's happened in the past. we've seen it, right? >> yes. >> there's a little bit of cause of concern. what do we know what can happen because of the nature of the process. >> last time in not only did it back up, and worried about the health of the cardinals and frescoes, literally speaking, smoke in white and gray, there's beenntention to make the color very clear. we've seen black billowing. today people said it looked grayp. it's pretty black to me. >> it was eventually a darker color. it's tricky to tell. it's part of the genius of this process, that this little chimney, so simple in all our

technologically driven society, the smoke comes out, not an easy reckoning every time. it adds to the mystery of it. we go with it and we wait and we sound a little funny when we say we don't know what color the smoke is. when we get white smoke, and he will get it at some point, you will a he see it's not such a home run as you would expect. even though they have an entire process, john allen, a second stove, that is only to make sure that color is discernible. >> that's right. they've added what they call a fume my gator, sort of placed immediately next to the stove which, of course, was first used in the conclave of 1939. you can actually see the date and year of all the conclaves etched into the stone of the stove. the few my gator is where the special chemical packets are placed which is supposed to turn the thing either black or white. and then they each have tubes that feed and then connect and then lead to the chimney on top of the sistine chapel. i will say, despite the high-tech fix, the product is sometimes a little mixed initially at the end. >> right, exactly. >> at the press conference,

lombardi got some laughter, when asked what are these chemicals, and he gave them off, more like a chemistry lesson than a vesser. >> all the chemicals are designed to not hurt the frescoes inside. >> there is one cardinal who trained as a chemist, cardinal from buenos aries, so if he gets elected pope, at least maybe he could bring some fix, some chemical fix to this process so the next time they get clear black or clear white. >> that in itself may be progress. we'll leave it there for now, back to you. >> who knew smoke was so complicated, right? thanks so much to all of you. if you aren't getting enough of that chimney cam, head to cnn.com/live, watch it all day and all night live. seven minutes after the hour. time to check our top stories. a team on horses expected in new orleans today to join in the search for a 26-year-old second grade teacher. terrilyn monette went missing march 2nd. her mother spoke earlier with cnn's soledad o'brien. tony thinks somebody kidnapped

her daughter. >> i can't sleep at night. i can't sleep at night. i can't eat. i keep thinking about my child and where she could be. i just want her back. so please, if you're listening and you're watching this, please bring terrilyn home. please. that's all i want. i want her home. >> oh. her daughter terrilyn was last seen at a bar in a quiet neighborhood. she was celebrating her nomination as district teacher of the year. a 30-foot wide ribbon of burned oil is streaming out of a barge off the coast of louisiana after the vessel's tug hit a petroleum pipeline last night and burst into flames. the coast guard is letting the fire on the tug and barge burn itself out. it's also launching a cleanup effort. cnn spoke earlier with the coast guard, the captain of the coast guard, peter goshay. >> we've mobilized 6,000 feet of containment boom on scene, we've got another 10,000 feet that's on its way and will be there

shortly as well as a couple swimmers and we're going to agregressively attack and pick whatever oil we can to protect the sensitive sites in that area. >> all four crew members on the tugboat escaped the fire. one was severely burned. the fda is warning users of a popular antibiotic it could lead to heart problems. the agency says z-pack can change electrical activity in your heart and could potentially lead to a fatal irregular heartbeat. the medicine will now carry warning labels. and the faa says boeing can start testing a redesigned battery for its 787 dreamliner jets. the move puts the troubled planes one step closer to returning to service. dreamliners in the united states and around the world have been grounded since january after lithium ion batteries on two planes caught fire. budget season in washington. what fun. competing plans from republicans and democrats and the gop is on the attack this morning.

>> the democrat budget as we know it today is going to hurt jobs, hurt the economy, make it more difficult for our job creators to get americans back to work and that ought to be the fundamental question we ask about the budget process as we enter this next week. >> yeah. senate democrats will release their budget today. now to get a budget passed, both sides are going to have to use the dreaded "c" word and that would be compromise. so today, president obama heads back to capitol hill for a meeting in the lion's den with republicans in the house. our chief congressional correspondent dana bash joins us from capitol hill. dana, the president has been trying to fend fences lately but it's proved to be a tall order. >> oh, absolutely. and you said he's going into the lion's den today. of all of the meetings he is having, and he is having meetings with house and senate republicans and democrats, today's meeting with house republicans is going to be the one to watch for obvious reasons. house republicans, they are the ones who -- the only part of the government, the republicans have control over, and they, of

course, have been the ones to stop his agenda in its tracks from their perspective standing up for their principles. the obvious question is, what can come of it? there were pretty low expectations talking to an unscientific group of republicans, deadria walsh, our congressional producer talked to many yesterday, i talked to some as well, we're glad he's coming, we've asked for this, but we don't know him at all. it's really going to be starting from square one from the republicans. interesting tidbit is that most of the house republicans only know divided government. the majority of those in the republican caucus of the house, were elected in 2010 and 2012, so they don't know anything different. so that -- they've only been in congress to try to stop the president's agenda. >> yeah. this has been pretty normal for them. a question for you, there are competing plans out there, the house republicans released their budgets, senate democrats will release their budget, and they're completely different. is there any sort of --

>> they could not be more different? >> common thread? >> not really. they both have to do with the nation's fiscal situation. that's about it. they could not be more different. you're exactly right. the democrats, as you can imagine, falls along democratic principles. listen to the pretty new senate democratic budget chair describe her budget. >> our budget is balanced in terms of creating and growing the economy and dealing with our debt and deficit responsibly. our budget moves us to a much better place in terms of managing our debt and that is exactly what we need to do right now as we deal with this very fragile economy as we get back on our feet. >> now, let's talk specifics. how will they do it? a trillion dollars, that's trillion with a "t," carol, in new taxes, a trillion dollars in spending cuts, and we should note that this is the first time democrats who run the senate are producing a budget in four years. so yes, of course, there are differences. we've seen the president produce

budgets which he is supposed to do by law. this is the first time that we are really going to see when it comes to congress, the stark differences. of course the house republicans, we talked about their budget yesterday. paul ryan balances the budget he says in ten years but does it mostly by keeping spending much, much lower and actually cutting taxes for -- >> and eliminating obama care, right? dana bash, thanks so much. you have a tough job, dana bash. we appreciate you doing it. the actress valerie harper, inspiring all of us as she fighting terminal cancer. >> i really think that if we had less fear and resistance like -- to death, life would be happier. >> the actress shares the greatest moments of her life, just ahead.

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at 16 minutes past the hour, time to check our top stories.

one of the u.s. cardinals taking part in electing a new pope is facing new fallout from the sex abuse scandal back home. the los angeles archdiocese has agreed to pay nearly $10 million to four men who say their former priest michael baker molested them years ago. the lawsuits claim cardinal roger mahony knew that baker was sexually assaulting boys and allowed him to continue as a priest. the larger sex scandal rocked the nation's archdiocese. mahony retired two years ago but new revelations led him to being relieved of his public duties. american airlines joined the chorus of critics to reverse the decision to let passengering carry small pocket knives on planes. delta and u.s. airways oppose lifting the ban that was put in place after 9/11. it's set to take place april 25th. colorado expected to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples. state lawmakers in both chambers have approved the bill. now the governor, a democrat,

expected to sign it into law. while it legalizes civil unions colorado's constitution says marriage can only be between a man and a woman. turning now to your money. hank greenberg, former head of aig, you remember aig? well, mr. greenberg is doubling the size of his lawsuit against the government and oh, by the way, you the taxpayer, to $55 billion. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange. remind us again why taxpayers might be a little outraged at this. >> first of all, hank greenberg is kind of a persistent guy with even lawmakers in the past calling him somebody who's got a lot of chutzpah doing this. what he did was updated his complaint yesterday in a lawsuit that's already in the process and what this lawsuit alleges is that when the government bailed out aig in 2008, he's saying it was unconstitutional and cheated shareholders out of billions of dollars. you remember the government spent $182 billion rescuing aig

during the height of the crisis. talk about biting the hand that feeds you. this is really clearly it. greenberg, though, he's going at this alone. the company says no, we are not backing your effort because then you've got aig's current chief, he's been very outspoken about the fact that company has paid the government back in full plus almost $23 billion profit on top. his thinking it would be a pr nightmare for the company to turn around and sue for money. carol? >> alison kosik, reporting live from the new york stock exchange. still ahead, our talk back question today, is mississippi's anti-bloomberg bill a good idea? facebook.com/carolcnn or tweet me @carolcnn. .

now is your chance to talk back on one of the stories of the day. the question for you this morning, is mississippi's anti-bloomberg bill a good idea? lawmakers in mississippi are saying nanny bloomberg do not mess with us. they passed what's known as the anti-bloomberg bill. it prevents mississippi from banning food based on nutritional information. you know, like large sugary sodas. this after a new york judge struck down mayor bloomberg's much ballyhooed soda ban. thirty for a fight. mayor bloomberg says, bring it on. >> if we are serious about fighting obesity, we have to be honest about what causes it and we have to have the courage to tackle it head on. >> back to mississippi. according to the trust for america's health, robert wood johnson foundation, mississippi has the highest rate of obesity 35% of adults are obese in the state of mississippi. still, the author of

mississippi's anti-bloomberg bill, a restaurant owner, says consumers, not the government, should decide what they can buy and apparently most americans yearn for high calorie fast foods and they want to eat it freely. case in point, the cool ranch doritos locos taco, taco bell customers went loco last week because they could not find the new taco at the local restaurants venting on taco bell's facebook page, you lied to me, i thought we had a better relationship than this, and why, taco bell, why? hate to say it, but taco bell fail. seriously, doritos loco taco is no joke. taco bell told "the daily beast" it sold 1 million nafrp cho cheese -- nacho cheese tacos a day. it had to hire 15,000 new people to handle the load. clearly we want to eat what we want when we want and we have an

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good morning. i'm carol costello. thank you for joining us. it's about 30 minutes past the hour. president obama goes back to capitol hill today for the second of three visits this week. the president will face a challenge in meeting with house republicans today. of course as you know, they oppose raising taxes. the president does not. congress set for its first formal budget debate since the president took office, though, four years ago. mars, mars, may have supported life at one time. that's what scientists are saying after studying data from nasa's curiosity rover.

curiosity is on a two-year mission to mars that began last august. roman catholic cardinals resume voting for a new pope at the top of the hour. black smoke poured from the chimney on the roof of the sistine chapel earlier this morning and, of course, that means no one was elected to be the next pope. let's get the latest now from rome and cnn's jim bittermann. >> hi, carol. in fact, yeah, the black smoke came out. at first it looked a little gray but then it went to black. the crowd kind of growned when that happened. there's still a lot of people coming out, despite the awful weather we're having this afternoon. a lot of people turning out in this square. when we went through and talked to people afterwards they said look, we're disappointed, it would have been nice to have been here for seeing the pope elected or whatever, but in fact they should take their time and pick the right person and let them carry on at the pace they need to carry on at. a lot of people that i talked to anyway are staying around, they're basically saying they're going to come back this

afternoon to see about the second vote and the third vote today and how that turns out, and maybe even come back tomorrow if necessary before they get a pope. carol? >> jim bittermann, thanks so much. here at home, those annoying speed cameras are cash cows for a lot of cities and that, in part, makes them unconstitutional. that's what a state judge has ruled in elmwood place, ohio, a small town near cincinnati. now this judge's decision calls the speed cameras a sham, and a high-tech game of three card monte. this judge is ordering the city to pay back 10 people who challenged their tickets and now the entire state of ohio is considering making the cameras illegal. listen to lawmakers. . >> this is just a scam, a money grab. >> it's an example of big brother gone wild in a budget crunch. >> profits reached from the ticket are huge. according to the court, about

115 tickets are issued daily in that tiny town. each ticket, each fine i should say, is $105. that adds up to more than $360,000 per month and that money is split between the city and, of course, the people who make those speed cameras. joining us now from new york is our cnn legal contributor paul cow hen. good morning, paul. >> good morning, carol. >> these kind of stories fascinate me. is this the first time that a judge has ruled that these speed cameras are unconstitutional? >> well, no, it isn't. actually, there have been lawsuits filed against these cameras all over the country. there are even some class-action lawsuits involving huge numbers of mortists suing. every place they turn up people get really mad about it because you get nailed automatically, you have to pay the ticket, maybe you're not even driving the car, maybe you lent it to a friend. they're controversial every place they're installed. this is one of the strongest,

strongest worded decisions i've seen denouncing the cameras. >> i was going to ask you, in part this judge ruled these things are unconstitutional because 40% of the profits in this case go to the people who make the cameras. the rest of it goes to this tiny village. >> yeah. you know what, the judge found in this case is that the company, the private company that supplies the cameras, is in charge of calibrating the cameras and setting them up. so how do we know that company is not setting them up to nail more drivers to make more money? this is very different than a police officer with a radar gun who works for the government and due process protects us. we can go into court and say hey, the radar gun was off or the cop was looking a different way. with these laws, you're automatically ticketed, you're deprived of due process of law, you can't even fight these things. unconstitutional, says the judge. and it's a blistering decision denouncing the village for doing

this. >> i know. it's really a fun read, actually. this is very colorful language. i guess my last question to you would be, if the state of ohio makes these speed cameras illegal, will most of the country follow suit? i mean, is -- are these things fast becoming a thing of the past? >> no, i don't think they're becoming a thing of the past unfortunately. you can even talk about drones, law enforcement using drones. these are all technologies that the police are using because they're efficient, they're generally very, very accurate. you can set up a system that's constitutional. you have to build in due process and you have to build in ways for citizens to challenge the accuracy of the cameras. however, you know, the legislature might respond to citizen anger and ban it. now that's happened in some states. in some states, the state legislatures have said we're banning the cameras because they're going to throw us out of office if we leave them in because people just don't like them. in terms of the courts or

constitutionali constitutionality, ultimately if you do it right they're totally legal. i think you'll still see some states using them. they do save lives, some say, because they slow people down and slow the traffic down. >> paul callan, many thanks. >> nice being with you, carol. it's a simple taco, but boy is its impact unbelievable. taco bell sells more than 1 million dorito loco tacos every single day and guess what, that taco is creating thousands of jobs. ahead, can a taco save america? students everywhere are looking for someone who can help them reach their full potential. with an advanced degree in education from capella university, you'll be better equipped to deal with today's issues and make an even greater impact. let's get started at capella.edu.

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television viewers fell in love with valerie harper back in the '70s on the "mary tyler moore" show. she played rhoda morgenstern. harper was always there with a laugh. >> i draw the line, married guys with medallions. double lines for married with children. >> hey, he's divorced. no line. >> such an example for young girls at that time. now harper is sharing her brave battle with a devastating cancer diagnosis. on tuesday, she told piers morgan what it was like to get that diagnosis after she thought she had beaten the disease. >> just two months after i was saying i was cancer-free and this is great. i got this diagnosis. i think i was opened up to talking to people about personal things in my life.

nothing raunchy or hot because i didn't have rauch in my life or drugs or alcoholism, just, you know, slept with my husband. so, you know -- or if i did, i wasn't going to talk about it. so that was my book. and i -- i think that's part of me wanting to go public now, because i want people clear about what's going on, that was four years ago and dr. mckenna gave me that and now dr. natally and dr. ruddnick are on the trail of trying to help me with this. so after this little course, short course of chemo, that's designed to get throughs the blood/brain barrier if you understand what that is. >> yeah. >> that's this protective coating, that infection and bacteria don't get through, but neither does chemo, except certain designed ones. they're now working on medicine, rather than chemo, that gets to

my particular cancer. every cancer cell has its own dna. who knew? i certainly didn't. and markers. and they are working from my tumor of four years ago, looking at it, biopsying it and trying to develop something specifically for me. not because i'm an actor or people know me, but because i'm a cancer patient. >> when you look back, valerie, over this extraordinary life and career you've had, what has been the greatest moment for you? if i could replay a moment for you now, what would you choose? >> oh, my goodness. my husband telling me that he thought we should adopt. because i would make a great mother. that was a nice one. and other -- the achievements are being directed by paul newman. who wouldn't want to look into those blue eyes? just there have been milestones all along, but i guess the biggest of all was just having tony in my life, at my side, at

my back, helping me in every way possible and enjoying life with me and traveling and all the things we've done. so i guess my marriage, which is an ongoing, unfolding, to this minute. >> i've never seen anybody who -- i've known some people in my life who have been diagnosed with a terminal condition and, you know, to most people it would be the single most crushing thing that's ever happened to them. you've reacted in this extraordinarily positive way, which i think is really inspired people and they're all asking the same thing. where do you feel you get the strength to be like this? >> well, first of all, i'm almost 74 and i have had a magnificent run, the most wonderful husband in the world for 34 years, a great career, and finally after all these years of wanting to be a little stage actress, i got a tony nomination in 2010. at 70 years old, what could be better? but i really look at my life as

blessed. sure, i've had challenges and terrible things happen and loss of dear people and all that, but i reall think that if we had less fear and resistance, like a strat fide thing to death, life would be happier and the moments of our lives would be fuller and richer and i'm not saying, you know, pauley ana, yeah, yeah, i don't mean it to sound like, "yeah, here comes death," but if it is a reality as "people" magazine said -- they did say three months to live, but on kolgs will say we say three, maybe six, maybe one week. >> i want her to be my best friend, like i always did. wow. you can catch harper's full interview on cnn.com. we'll be right back. >> i'm going crazy with hunger. >> well eat something. >> i can't. i've got to lose ten pounds by 8:30. [ female announcer ] from meeting customer needs...

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time to talk back at a number of important stories this morning. the president will have a really -- actually he'll really have to turn on the charm when he travels to capitol hill to talk face to face with house republicans. they have stood in the way of virtually all of his priorities and most likely they will ask him about what he told abc's george stephanopoulos. >> my goal is not to chase a balanced budget just for the sake of balance. my goal is how do we grow the

economy, put people back to work and if we do that, we're going to be bringing in more revenue. if we've controlled spending and we've got a smart entitlement package then potentially what you have is balance, but it's not balance on the backs of, you know, the poor, the elderly, students who need student loans, families who have got disabled kids. that's not the right way to balance our budgets. >> joining us now, jason johnson, chief political correspondent for politics 365 at hiram college and ron christy, former special assistant to president george w. bush. welcome to you both. >> good morning, carol. >> i always thought a balanced budget was really, really important. what exactly is president obama saying, jason? >> well, what he's saying is, i want my policies to go through and i got re-elected arguing for these policies. that's basically the point. what we've got here is an impasse because barack obama feels, since he just won the presidential election on these policies, that is what the

republicans in congress should be willing to work with. they're not interested in that. i don't really think a balanced budget is important in and of itself but he really doesn't care because he thinks there are bigger issues he wants to tackle in his second term. >> ron, what do you think? >> well, i think the president has an obligation to lead the country and to outline specifically what his priorities are. he is mandated by law to put forth a budget, the first monday in february. he's failed to do this four out of the five years he's been in office. i think it's very important for the american people to understand what this administration would prioritize on funding and what they wouldn't. i listen to the way that the president demonized the republicans and said oh, they want to balance the budget on the backs of the poor and elderly, that's nonsense. the senate budget resolution proposes to spend $46 trillion over the next ten years. paul ryan supposedly would put $41 trillion. paul ryan says we should increase spending by 3.5% every year and the senate democrats say 5%. that's hardly cutting spending. >> okay. you've seen sort of what the

conversation is like on capitol hill or going to be like today. on to topic two. lawmakers in mississippi are saying nanny bloomberg do not mess with us. mississippi has passed a bill to prevent any ban on large sodas dubbed the anti-bloomberg bill. this after a new york judge struck down the mayor's soda ban. mayor bloomberg's soda ban, that is. perhaps understandable, except mississippi is the fattest state in the nation with a 35% obesity rate. so the question, is mississippi's antibloomberg bill a good idea? >> i think it's more symbolic than anything else. the fact of the matter is that chronic disease is really the driver of health care costs in this country. if you look at in the uny that we're spending at the federal government, you're looking at about 75 cents out of every health care dollar is going to chronic disease. i understand their really disdain with what mayor bloomberg is trying to do, but at the same time, passing a symbolic statute i think is somewhat meaningless. >> i'm just looking at our

viewer comment, jason. i thought america was a free nation. who does bloomberg or the government think they are to try to tell us what we can or cannot do? i hear that, but i also know, as ron said, we have an obesity problem in this country. people are addicted to fattening foods. so what as a nation do you do? because we all share in the health care costs. >> well look, bloomberg's plan went too far but he has the right idea, and the idea is to say look, if we all end up having to pay for these costs we have to make sure this goes down very simply. i think it had a negative economic impact but his idea was good. what mississippi is doing is a waste of time. i'm sure there's a lot more important issues like education and health care they should be handling. >> thanks for playing today. we appreciate it. >> thank you. >> always a pleasure. on the subject of fast food, could a craving or could addiction to a taco save america? the taco craze that helped -- that's helping to boost the american economy. we'll talk about that, next.

i'm thinking about a neon orange meat filled miracle taco wrapped in a nacho cheese dorito shell. thanks a lot daily beast. i cannot get that image out of my head now or this daily beast headline "can this taco save america?" it's no joke. according to the daily beast last year taco bell sold 1 million dorito locos tacos a

day. it's hired 15,000 workers to handle the madness. talk about success. >> wow. >> wow. >> wow. >> wow. >> wow. >> wow. >> wow. so, since we love that daily beast headline, can a taco really save america, we want to talk about that? joining us now our business guru alison kosik and lynn johnson, director of digital and social strategy and brand strategy at market and wagner. welcome to you both. >> hello. >> i love this story. alison, can one delicious taco really save america? >> i don't know if it's going to save america. i mean what's the sodium content in that thing? i think it's going to really hurt our health. all right. putting the nutrition and the health aside, you know, it does kind of make that turn to the economy and from what i've been reading about this taco, this taco could really provide some jobs. hey, ain't that really the key thing in growing this economy? you know that this is taco

bell's most successful taco ever. in fact, the ceo says the company had a -- as you said, added 15,000 jobs last year just to handle the craziness over the loco taco. greg crede, that's his name. he believes the chain could add another 2,000 restaurants over the next ten years, just here in the u.s. so those are going to need full staff. you see the sort of domino effect happening. this is mainly because of the success of the dorito locos tacos. the company sold 375 million of the original nacho cheese version in less than a year. you know what's coming? the cool ranch taco is coming next. taco bell was supposed to launch it on a wednesday. it didn't until a thursday and everybody went battie on social media saying that taco was supposed to be available wednesday, we are not happy. >> i know. you know, lynn, i'm going to pose that question to you, because the marketing of this taco was insanely good, as alison said. taco bell's facebook page lit up when people couldn't find the

dorito cool ranch locos taco. one person said on facebook i've never been more angry on my life and you lied to me, i thought we had a better relationship than this. what makes people gravitate to a single product like this? >> well, i think, you know, you have -- you have this successful relationship between doritos and tacos. tacos has already done a really good social media marketing job at handling their crisis, right. and you know, they changed brand perception around that. but beyond that they're working with doritos which doritos wins super bowl social media, you know, oftentimes because they bring the consumer, the people, into the advertising with them. they let people create ads for them. they run the spots on the social media sites. they let the best one then run during the super bowl. i think you have the backing of dorito as well with taco bell here, to just have a win/win for both companies. >> and i guess when people bite that into that taco there's some

sort of weird drug that addicts them. i'm kidding about that. it's amazing so many people like this taco. alison, the ceo of taco bell seems to be an uncommon man. this is a quote from "the daily beast" from mr. crede. we've done some research. the top thing that customers look at is how people treat their employees. they'll judge us not just on our quality of food but on how we treat our team members. i found that to be refreshing and kind of unusual. >> it is kind of true. look how consumers have sort of lashed out against walmart. walmart has been accused of mistreating its employees in one way -- one sense or another, and there have been petitions on-line here and there about consumers saying i'm not shopping there anymore. it is really one of the key factors people look for when judging a company, when spending their money at a company. you know, what's it like to work there? many people feel if the employees aren't treated well, why should i spend my money there? >> interesting. i wish we could talk more about this but i have to go out and get a taco. >> i want one.

>> thank you so much. >> all right. >> up next, live from vatican city as the cardinals get ready to start their afternoon session. ♪ [ male announcer ] start with nothing, build a ground-breaking car. good. now build a time machine. go here, find someone who can build a futuristic dash board display. bring future guy back. watch him build a tft display like nothing you've ever seen. get him to explain exactly what that is. the thin film transistor display... [ male announcer ] mmm, maybe not. just show it. customize the dash, give it park assist. the fuel efficiency flower thing. send future guy home, his work here is done. destroy time machine. win some awards, send in brady. that's how you do it. easy. today is gonna be an win important day for us.brady. you ready? we wanna be our brother's keeper. what's number two we wanna do? bring it up to 90 decatherms. how bout ya, joe? let's go ahead and bring it online. attention on site, attention on site.